SELLING CARS ON DOLE

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3262, 3 February 1931, Page 7

SELLING CARS ON DOLE

SIR W. MORRIS' STATEMENT.

STINGING REPLY TO MR. SNOWDEN.

"I was asked the other day where all the money was coming to buy my cars. I replied: We are selling cars on the dole to-day. The people who are buying cars are drawing their money from the people who are drawing the dole. We cannot continue long under present conditions. The country must go back and I can only hope that at the next election more people will realise the position."

Sir William Morris made this statement at a meeting at Sutton Goldfield.

"I get ruffled," he said, "when I meet Free Traders, just as I did when I heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer say that British manufacturers lacked enterprise. I felt annoyed because in particular we have not had a dog's chance since the war. When he says that I ask him: What has he done to give the slightest encouragement to the British manufacturers.

"He says that W. B. Morris may be a very good business man, but what does he know about politics. He went further than that, he almost said that I was a fool in that direction. I must agree with him; but there is another side to the question. I will ask him what does he know of either business or politics, and I will ask the present Cabinet, with exceptions, what they have done to encourage business or enterprise in this country. THE AMERICAN THRUST. "Mr. Snowden says that it is not the horse-power tax which has interfered with the motor industry in getting business overseas. Not so long ago we were fighting for five years, and our business was taken by a country which might have been earlier in the fight, but our troubles have been increased by the fact that Governments in the past have not realised what is needed for this country.

"A year ago I calculated that every foreign motor -car on the streets of this country meant one man out of work for 12 months. How long will this country go on tolerating this state of affairs, while America is building up the biggest motor car business in the world behind the biggest tariff in the world?"

With a Conservative Government again, Sir William added, there would be a new state of affairs, though he trusted it would have more ginger than the last Conservative Government. Rightly led, it would give confidence to the country and to manufacturers, so that they would employ the men who were to-day on the dole. With the right leaders there would be a boom in six months. A DISCREDITED PROPHET. Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland referred to Mr. Snowden's recent prediction that there would soon be an improvement in trade, which would come with "considerable rapidity." Sir Arthur pointed out that Mr. Snowden was a discredited prophet. He stated before the last election that by June of this year there would be a great decrease in unemployment. Instead of improving it had doubled. The most charitable description of his present prophecies was that they were worthless. "Mr. Snowden," he said, "must know that the reason for the present depression and grave unemployis not primarily and general fall in prices or other world causes. Rival manufacturing countries have been taking our trade from us. That is the real and fundamental cause of the bad state of trade in this country.

"Suppose there is another boom in world trade as there was two years ago. Shall we get a full share of this new prosperity? No- It seems that we shall get the leavings only and the lion's share will go to those samec ountries which have been taking trade from us in recent years."